You've chosen the best possible stallion to breed your outstanding mare. She's due next month. What do you need to do to prepare?
Many insist the best possible place for a mare to foal is in a clean, grassy, sunny field. While there is some truth to that as there is less fecal and other contamination than in a stall, this is *NOT* an ideal situation is your mare if hard to catch and has problems that need dealt with immediately.
Often mare owners stay up watching the mare for days, sometimes weeks, bleary eyed and sleep deprived, only to go to the house for a shower and come back to a foal in the stall. Some mares have heightened abilities to go from no signs to a foal.
Keep in mind that naturally a nervous mare or insecure mare will hold off foaling if there is any threat. In the wild a mare down foaling is dangerously vulnerable to a predator attack on her and/or her newborn foal. The smell of stress, sweat and blood can bring a hungry predator to her foaling site. While we can change many things and we reason there is no need for a mare to be afraid of *us* when she's safe in a stall, instincts don't always fall into that line of thought.
Most websites and books will advise to watch for "bagging up" - when the udder is enlarged with milk and colostrum for the foal. Before foaling the mares will "wax" - dots of a waxy substance appear on the openings of the teat.
An important note is mares don't read those books. Some mares will not wax or bag up. Others do both and drip colostrum for days, something that is important to note as the foal needs at least a couple of good feedings of colostrum for immunity. If she's leaked it all out she has none when the foal is born.
A better indicator is watching the muscles around the tailhead and muscles in the rump and vulva. When these relax, the vulva looks flacid instead of tight, the muscles in the rump often look hollow - you can bet lunch the mare will foal soon. All of these signs physically prepare the mare for passing the foal. Tight muscles don't stretch to accomodate the sometimes 60-100 pound foal.
When the passing of "water" indicates the mare is about to foal quickly wrap the tail with Vetrap to help keep it clean and out of the way of the foaling process.
Be sure to have a veterinarian on standby just in case things go wrong. Foaling involves risks many are blissfully unaware of when booking that stallion. An improper position and the power of the contractions can result in a foal's foot penetrating through the birth canal into the rectum, a dangerous situation for mare and foal that needs immediate attention. Malpositioned foals can die without immediate help. Mares can rupture after foaling and quickly bleed to death. While mares have foaled for thousands of years many have died for that long also.
If there is only one foot present or more than two assistance is needed *NOW*. If the soles of the feet are up, if the nose is not shortly behind the two feet or if the nose is there without the feet it's cause for immediate concern. If the mare delivers normally clear the foal's nose and mouth quickly and quietly and insure he's breathing. Quickly and quietly check the sex and, when the umbilical cord is broken, treat it with an iodine solution. Let the foal rest for a few minutes and he'll begin struggling to stand. Often the mare will get up and turn around to help him, licking and encouraging him.
If the placenta is not expelled within four hours call the vet. DO NOT pull on it! Tie it up so the mare doesn't stand on it...and after it's expelled check carefully for any tears or rips that indicate part of it is missing and still in the mare. Retained placentas can result in founder, infection and in extreme cases loss of the mare.
If all has gone well, the mare foals normally, the foal gets to his feet and nurses, the placenta is expelled soon after let the mare and foal bond for a few hours. Call the vet in the morning to do an exam on the foal and the mare. The vet can check for heart problems, cleft palate, vaccinate against tetanus and anything else seen that needs cared for. Some will palpate the mare to insure a clean reproductive environment. Some will use an enema to insure the foal passes the meconium, the first manure. If you do this yourself be sure to lubricate the tip and put it no more than an inch into the anus - do not perforate the intestine. Have a helper hold the foal to insure he doesn't pull away or fall onto the enema, causing damage that needs immediate attention.
Raising a foal is rewarding but a great deal of work. Foaling is natural but also a risk - every foaling is a risk and things can change from normal to major problems faster than you can imagine. Be prepared. If you are too far for a veterinarian to get to you might be ahead to send the mare to a facility that foals mares out.
Plan ahead, be prepared, expect a smooth foaling but be prepared for a bad one.
Healthy foals take planning and effort. Each foaling carries risk for mare and foal.
